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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 5:36 pm EDTNBA legend. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Jim Pollard
Career at a glance
Jim Pollard played 7 NBA regular seasons between 1948 and 1955, appearing in 438 games and averaging 13.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He spent his whole career with Minneapolis (1948–55, 438 games). His best scoring season was 1951–52 with Minneapolis: 15.5 points per game over 65 games.
He rebounded best in 1951–52 at 9.1 per game. Championship seasons: 1948–49 (Minneapolis), 1949–50 (Minneapolis), 1951–52 (Minneapolis), 1952–53 (Minneapolis), 1953–54 (Minneapolis). In the playoffs he appeared in 7 postseason runs (72 games, 13.6 points per game).
Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 5,800 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total).
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About Jim Pollard
James Clifford Pollard (July 9, 1922 – January 22, 1993) was an American professional basketball player and coach. As a player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Pollard was considered one of the best forwards in the 1950s and was known for his leaping ability, earning him the nickname "The Kangaroo Kid". A five-time NBA champion and four-time NBA All-Star, Pollard spent his entire eight-year professional career with the Minneapolis Lakers.
Pollard was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. He has also been inducted into the Bay Area Hall of Fame, Stanford Hall of Fame, and Pac-12 Hall of Honor.
- Born
- July 9, 1922 Oakland, California, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
- Listed weight
- 185 lb (84 kg)
- Position
- Small forward
- High school
- Oakland Tech (Oakland, California)
- College
- Stanford (1940–1942)
- Playing career
- 1947–1955
Career highlights and awards
- 5× BAA/NBA champion (1949, 1950, 1952–1954)
- 4× NBA All-Star (1951, 1952, 1954, 1955)
- 2× All-NBA First Team (1949, 1950)
- 2× All-NBA Second Team (1952, 1954)
- No. 17 honored by Los Angeles Lakers
- ABA All-Star Game head coach (1968)
- NBL champion (1948)
- All-NBL First Team (1948)
- NCAA champion (1942)
- First-team All-American – Helms (1942)
- First-team All-PCC (1942)
- California Mr. Basketball (1939)
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948–49† | Minneapolis | 53 | – | .396 | .687 | – | 2.7 | 14.8 |
| 1949–50† | Minneapolis | 66 | – | .346 | .764 | – | 3.8 | 14.7 |
| 1950–51 | Minneapolis | 54 | – | .352 | .750 | 9.0 | 3.4 | 11.6 |
| 1951–52† | Minneapolis | 65 | 39.2 | .356 | .704 | 9.1 | 3.6 | 15.5 |
| 1952–53† | Minneapolis | 66 | 36.4 | .357 | .769 | 6.8 | 3.5 | 13.0 |
| 1953–54† | Minneapolis | 71 | 35.0 | .370 | .778 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 11.7 |
| 1954–55 | Minneapolis | 63 | 31.1 | .354 | .812 | 7.3 | 2.5 | 10.8 |
| Career | 438 | 35.4 | .360 | .750 | 7.8 | 3.2 | 13.2 | |
| All-Star | 4 | 24.3 | .304 | .750 | 5.5 | 3.3 | 12.0 |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949† | Minneapolis | 10 | – | .293 | .710 | – | 3.9 | 13.0 |
| 1950† | Minneapolis | 12 | – | .286 | .710 | – | 4.7 | 12.0 |
| 1951 | Minneapolis | 7 | – | .324 | .833 | 8.9 | 3.9 | 13.6 |
| 1952† | Minneapolis | 11 | 42.6 | .405 | .740 | 6.3 | 3.0 | 16.1 |
| 1953† | Minneapolis | 12 | 37.9 | .371 | .774 | 7.2 | 4.1 | 14.3 |
| 1954† | Minneapolis | 13 | 41.8 | .361 | .800 | 8.5 | 3.2 | 12.3 |
| 1955 | Minneapolis | 7 | 36.7 | .317 | .717 | 11.1 | 2.0 | 14.1 |
| Career | 72 | 40.1 | .339 | .750 | 8.1 | 3.6 | 13.6 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 3″
- Weight
- 185 lb
- Position
- Small forward
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- Not listed
- Draft pick
- Undrafted / not listed
Height, Weight, Position, Country: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
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